The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse sold $56.3 million of oil and natural gas properties at its recent auction in Houston. More than 233 registered bidders competed for the 156 lots offered, and 35% were purchased by Internet bidders.

Dan Sodersten, senior vice president of technical services, said, “Based upon the sales prices for this auction, our price received per-net-producing daily barrel for the entire sale was the highest in the history of the Clearinghouse.” The hybrid auction allowed Internet bidders to compete simultaneously and in real time against floor bidders.

“The prices received for properties offered in this auction reconfirmed the industry perception that we are still in a seller’s market,” said Sodersten. “There appears to be more than adequate capital available for acquisitions. Furthermore, because of the quality of the assets offered in this sale, the recent softening of commodity prices in the near-term months did not have a material effect on prices received.”

The largest royalty lot sold at the auction was by privately held independent Samson Investment Co., which sold a single lot in the Hutchings Stock Association and Ward fields in Ward County, TX, for $12.4 million. The Tulsa-based producer also sold 27 other lots, primarily in the Permian Basin of Texas. In all, Samson auctioned its package of lots for close to $30 million.

Other notable sales at the auction included two by Anschutz Cos., which paid $2.54 million for acreage in the Vernon field in Jackson Parish, LA, and $1.15 million for a Lost Marsh field position in Brazoria County, TX. The Royal Bank of Scotland paid $1.5 million for Newark East field assets in Hood County, TX. Enerquest Oil & Gas paid $1.1 million for a Kemnitz South field position in Lea County, NM, and Fremont Exploration paid $1.2 million for a stake in the Lake Coleman field in Coleman County, TX. Reef Partners Holding also paid $700,000 for a stake in the Bohlwhite field in Robertson County, TX. ExxonMobil Corp. also sold 96 different lots in Haskell, Latimer and Pittsburg counties in Oklahoma.

The Clearinghouse will hold its next hybrid auction on Dec. 13 in Houston.

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